Need spec advice for new mini

cyell

New member
Ok so my 9800gt graphix card in my Clevo M860tu bit the dust and I need something to tide me over 'til Ivy Bridge drops for laptops so here's the skinny;

The machine will be used everyday, I'll want to be able to run a dual boot on it (Pref Linux Mint on it along with the windows 7 64 that I'll purchase with it). I use the Linux partition mainly for internet and office stuff (but tbh I also like to run minecraft, wing commander, etc on it too).

On Windows I'll be using it mainly for graphics applications, (photoshop CS) and entertainment (films, music etc) which usually involves the transfer of large files from one of my many external drives, the info on which I would like to back up onto this system. And of course games (Portal 2, Skyrim). I'm not expecting max graphics but I'll definitely need a card with a decent set of legs on it. I'd like to keep to less then 1100 all in as I will be looking at purchasing a new laptop in the future, but I need a really need a stopgap atm that I can turn into a mediabox+ down the line.

Questions:
1. Will I be better off going for a i5 with upgraded hdd's for decent write and transfer speed or is the configuration I've chosen going to give me the best bang for my buck?
2. Do I need more RAM? I thought I chose 4gb but the spec says 2gb :(
3. I'm new to RAID, will there be a problem using a dual boot on RAID?
4. Considering what I use it for; will I be better off scrapping the idea of buying a mini pc and getting a proper sized one with more than one PCE slot on the motherboard? (I just like the idea of small case that I can put on a shelf, really.)

Here is the spec;
Case
Silverstone SG01B-F Mini-ITX Case + 450W PSU
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600S Quad Core (2.8GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
INTEL® DH67CF: Mini-ITX, LG1155, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, RAID
Memory (RAM)
2GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (1 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 Ti - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
2TB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
RAID
RAID 1 (MIRRORED VOLUME - 2 x same size & model HDD / SSD) (£9)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Sound Card
ONBOARD 10 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Sorry for length. :)
 

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to our forums :)

To be honest Ivy Bridge based laptop are just around the corner and therefore I would recommend waiting for this if that's what you're ultimately looking for.

In response to your questions:

1. If your budget allows, get an SSD and a i5 as this will give you the best all round performance.

2. I would definitely recommend 4GB minimum, but also consider 8GB because memory prices are extremely cheap the the moment.

3. RAID should not cause any problem for dual booting because it is configured in the BIOS as opposed to in the operating system.

4. This is your personal choice - the specification you have put together can handle what you'd like to do. A desktop may give you slightly more "bang for buck" and a more powerful processor at the cost of size and footprint.
 

cyell

New member
Thanks a lot ! That's exactly what I needed to know. Atm its all on work exp so it doesn't matter if I get a mini-pc then a beasty laptop. :devil2: I just need a stop-gap for the next 2-3 months so I can stop living vicariously on a system that only displays at 800x600. Cheers!
 
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